vulgarize

[ vuhl-guh-rahyz ]

/ ˈvʌl gəˌraɪz /

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See synonyms for: vulgarized on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), vul·gar·ized, vul·gar·iz·ing.

to make vulgar or coarse; lower; debase: to vulgarize standards of behavior.

to make (a technical or abstruse work) easier to understand and more widely known; popularize.

to translate (a work) from a classical language into the vernacular.

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Also especially British, vul·gar·ise .

Origin of vulgarize

First recorded in 1595–1605; vulgar + -ize

OTHER WORDS FROM vulgarize

vul·gar·i·za·tion, nounvul·gar·iz·er, nounun·vul·gar·ize, verb (used with object), un·vul·gar·ized, un·vul·gar·iz·ing.

Words nearby vulgarize

vulgar, vulgar fraction, vulgarian, vulgarism, vulgarity, vulgarize, Vulgar Latin, Vulgate, Vulgate Bible, vulgus, vulned

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vulgarize in a sentence

To “paint” the subject merely to make it more real, is only to insult the imaginative power and to vulgarize the whole.
The Stones of Venice, Volume III (of 3)|John Ruskin
Please don't let the mention of money vulgarize a little friendly act like this.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 159, October 6, 1920|Various
That is not so painful; it does not vulgarize you so much as the cups they paint to-day and christen after me!
The Nrnberg Stove|Louisa de la Ram (AKA Ouida)
They lived in Victoria Villas, one of those smaller streets which copy and vulgarize the better ones in all London suburbs.
At His Gates, Vol. 1(of 3)|Margaret Oliphant

But whatever the cause, a vulgar paper will vulgarize any room, no matter what is done in the way of furniture.
Furnishing the Home of Good Taste|Lucy Abbot Throop

British Dictionary definitions for vulgarize

vulgarize

vulgarise

/ (ˈvʌlɡəˌraɪz) /

verb (tr)

to make commonplace or vulgar; debase

to make (something little known or difficult to understand) widely known or popular among the public; popularize

Derived forms of vulgarize

vulgarization or vulgarisation, nounvulgarizer or vulgariser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012